Stalin’s Soviet Union

How does Stalin create a totalitarian state?

State Control of Economy: Collectivisation And 5 Year Plans! 5 Year Plans: Plans to rapidly industrialize USSR Collectivization: take land from peasants and create large collective farms 1928 - 90% of land was owned by peasants. 1938 - 90% was collectivized.

“Stakhanovite” Alexei Stakhanov = ideal worker must work hard or risk being labeled a traitor

Gov’t Terror: Secret Police 1917: Lenin creates the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter Revolution, Speculation, Sabotage, and Misconduct in Office, better known as the CHEKA The CHEKA starts arresting opponents and executing “traitors”

The CHEKA is eventually replaced by the GPU, then by the OGPU, and then in 1934 by the Commisariat for Internal Affairs, better known as the… NKVD

Gov’t Terror: Purges! Why?: Protect revolution from “traitors” VICTIMS: Kulaks Peasants Trotsky, Bukharin, Zinoviev, Kirov & other old Bolsheviks. Army officers

Show Trials (1930s) Many top Commies accused of being enemies of the revolution Accused often “confessed” to the crimes Executions often followed

Zinoviev Put on trial in 1936 August 24, 1936:Found “guilty” August 25, 1936: Executed

Bukharin Arrested 1937 March 13, 1938: found “guilty” March 15, 1938: executed

Trotsky: Assassinated in 1940

Alters History by “erasing” enemies! Photo #1: Lenin and Trotsky Photo #2: No Trotsky

Photo #1: Lenin and Trotsky Photo #2: No Trotsky

Photo #1: Stalin and Yezhov

Photo #1 Before the Purges Photo #2 After the Purges

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DeathTally: at least 20 million Executed Starved to death Die in the gulag

Gov’t Terror: The Gulag!

Indoctrinating the Youth Young Pioneers Communsit Party youth group for kids under 15 kids taught to love the Communist Party more than family

Young Pioneers Oath “ I, a Young Pioneer of the Soviet Union, before my comrades do solemnly swear to be true to the precepts of Lenin, to stand firmly for the cause of our Communist Party and for the cause of Communism”

Komsomol for kids over 15 way to become Communist Party members and have good future

Pavlik Morozov 13 yr. old turned in his father heralded as ideal Soviet youth

Gov’t Control and Censorship of Media

Pravda (“Truth”): Official newspaper of the Communist Party

Glavlit: gov’t censoring agency Goskomizdat : gov’t agency controlling publication of books and other literature

Forward, Oh Time - Valentin Kataev, 1934 “To make life happy, it was not enough to say good words. It was not enough. One needed steel, steel, steel! With steel, there will be a new, happy life, a life that has never been before, a life that has never been seen before”

"Life's Getting Better“ (1936)                                                                                                                                                                                                      Beautiful as birds all in a row Songs fly above the Soviet land. The happy refrain of the cities and fields: "Life's getting better And happier too!" The country is growing and singing as one, It forges everyone's joy with its songs. Look at the sun--the sun's brighter too! "Life's getting better And happier too!" There's room everywhere for our minds and our hands, Wherever you go you'll find you have friends. Old age feels warmer, and youth braver still-- "Life's getting better And happier too!" Know, Voroshilov, we're all standing guard-- We won't give the enemy even a yard. There is a saying for folks old and young: "Life's getting better And happier too!" Let's let the whole gigantic country Shout to Stalin: "Thank you, our man, Live long, prosper, never fall ill!" "Life's getting better And happier too!" He took unto himself the tears of the ages, He took unto himself the woe of the ages, He took unto himself the joy of the ages, He took unto himself the wisdom of the ages, He took unto himself te strength of the ages, He burst unto the world like morning, And the world calls him Stalin. - 1936

“Thank you dear Stalin for a happy childhood.”

“Stalin at the helm”

“Under The Leadership Of The Great Stalin--Forward To Communism!”

“Take A Look: The Entire Soviet Nation Is Singing & Dancing”

Art Socialist Realism: style of art designed to glorify communist party and Lenin/Stalin all artists had to join the Union of Soviet Artists Stalin: “Artists are the engineers of souls” “Stalin as an organizer of the October Revolution”

“An Unforgettable Meeting” – Vasili Efanov

“A collective farm feast” - Alesandr Gerasimov, 1937

“Return of the Winners”

                                                                                                                  

“Industrial Worker and Collective Farm Girl” – Vera Mukhina, 1935

Architecture Palace of the Soviets Proposed building glorifying communism would have been world’s tallest building Lenin at the top would have been larger than the Statue of Liberty